Turkey detains pro-Kurdish news editor over tweets

Date of publication: 30 04 2016, 15:23

Turkish authorities Saturday detained the chief news editor of a pro-Kurdish television channel over tweets posted on his account, the broadcaster said, as concern grows over freedom of expression in the country.

The news editor of IMC TV, Hamza Aktan

The news editor of IMC TV, Hamza Aktan, was detained early Saturday in a police raid on his home in Istanbul, the channel said in a statement on its website.

It said that Aktan was now being interrogated by police, who were in particular focusing on tweets he had shared in 2015.

Police also asked why he had retweeted the views of two prominent pro-Kurdish commentators, it added. He was expected to appear before prosecutors after the questioning.

Aktan is a prominent journalist who has worked for several publications in Turkey and also published a book called “The Kurdish Citizen”.